South Jersey Man Gives Up His Obama Flag But Not His Opinions

(Wes Kennedy has replaced his composite Obama flag, in file photo, with two flags -- one a regular US flag and the other an image of Obama. Credit: CBS 3)

By Pat Loeb

LUMBERTON, N.J. (CBS) — A South Jersey man has come up with what he hopes is a solution to a controversy over the American flag that he flew in his yard — a flag bearing the image of President Barack Obama in place of the field of stars.

Wes Kennedy, of the Acacia housing development in Lumberton, says he had no idea some of his neighbors had a problem with his flag until reporters started calling and telling him (see related video).

“If someone had come to me in the beginning, I would have said, ‘Let’s sit down and talk to see what we might reasonably come up with as a solution.'”

Once he became aware of their objections, Kennedy worked out his own solution.

He’s taken the flag down and replaced it with two separate flags — one, the standard stars and stripes, and the second a picture of Obama.

Kennedy hopes his neighbors are happy, though he’s not sure.

“In Acacia, there are some angry, maybe even evil-minded people about Obama,” he tells KYW Newsradio.

Kennedy stresses that he loves his community, but thinks people need to talk to each other reasonably about their differences.